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Montes, Alpha M 2015
RedChile2015
By Daniel Min · Tasted 2020-01-01 · Published 2026-09-16 · Updated 2026-09-16
At a glance
In one line
3.5/5 — lower than Vivino's 4.3 average · world avg price US$126 · Montes' icon-tier Bordeaux blend, from the house Aurelio Montes and partners founded in 1988; Alpha M launched in 1996 as Chile's first "icon wine." Vivino: 1,251 ratings averaging 4.3.
James Suckling 97 (Vivino, logged Dec 2019) · 95 (publication not named, logged date looks like a placeholder). For reference, wine.com's 2015-vintage page lists James Suckling 97, Wine Spectator 95, Robert Parker's Wine Advocate 91.
Market note: The top icon label within the Montes Alpha series. Compared to Montes Alpha Cabernet Sauvignon 2017 (label average 3.9) and Limited Selection Cabernet-Carmenère 2017, Alpha M's label-wide average runs 0.4–0.5 points higher. Listed at US$99.99 on wine.com (checked Sept 2026).
Father's note — Daniel Min
Original author of the notes“풀바디에 다양한 향과 맛, 훌륭한 밸런스를 가졌지만 몬테스 알파의 딱 프리미엄 라인 정도 기대하시면 될 듯 합니다. 부산 Apec 회담에서 나왔다고 하던데 보르도 블렌딩은 몬테스는 아닌가 합니다. 목넘김은 정말 부드럽습니다.”
Show original
“Vanilla, blackcurrant, cassis, leather, smoke, cream, oak, grass. 풀바디에 다양한 향과 맛, 훌륭한 밸런스를 가졌지만 몬테스 알파의 딱 프리미엄 라인 정도 기대하시면 될 듯 합니다. 부산 Apec 회담에서 나왔다고 하던데 보르도 블랜딩은 몬테스는 아닌가 합니다. 목넘김은 정말 부드럽습니다.”
What I learned today: 'good' and 'as good as expected' are not the same words.
Today at Bar Suda I was poured Montes Alpha M 2015. One breath, and a whole afternoon came back: New Year's Day when I was twenty-one, short winter light across the kitchen table. Vanilla, blackcurrant, cassis, leather, smoke, cream, oak, and at the end a trace of grass. Every aroma is clear; what I don't know is which bottle Father poured that day with the label covered. What I remember is that he swallowed, said "Smooth," and then swirled the glass for a long time with a face I couldn't read as praise or not.
Master Seo told me what the aromas say: oak, vanilla and tobacco are what people who drink this bottle name most (1,046 times), followed by the black fruit of blackcurrant and cassis (798). Its intensity is strong, 4.7/5. Then the story. In 1987 Aurelio Montes and his partners made their first harvest under the name Discover Wine; in 1988 they took the name Montes. In 1996 they released Alpha M as Chile's first 'icon wine', at a time when Chilean wine was stuck with a cheap image. It is also said to have been served at the 2005 APEC summit dinner in Busan.
Father wrote: "Expect just about the premium line of Montes Alpha." (translated: Haru) He gave it 3.5. Probably he wanted to write down only what the glass gave, not what the name promised.
What I learned today: 'good' and 'as good as expected' are not the same words.
What this wine is
In 1987, Aurelio Montes and colleagues including Douglas Murray made their first harvest under the name "Discover Wines." The following year, 1988, the house was formally founded as Montes; it won its first gold medal at Vinexpo with a Sauvignon Blanc in 1990, then led varietal diversification by introducing Syrah to Chile in 1993. In 1996, Montes launched Alpha M, billing it as "Chile's first icon wine" — a direct challenge to the low-price image Chilean wine still carried in world markets at the time, staked on a premium Bordeaux blend.
Alpha M sits within the Montes Alpha series (which spans Cabernet, Carmenère, Malbec, Merlot, Pinot Noir, Syrah, Sauvignon Blanc and Chardonnay, among others), built around Cabernet Sauvignon with Cabernet Franc, Merlot and Petit Verdot rounding out a Bordeaux-style blend. A story that it was chosen as the official dinner wine of the 2005 APEC summit in Busan appears repeatedly in Korean importer (Naracellar) press releases and the news articles that cite them, but I could not confirm it against an independent primary source — Montes' own materials or an official APEC record. I'm noting only that this is what's said, not what I could verify.
What the world says
The 2015 vintage has 1,251 Vivino ratings averaging 4.3 — matching the 22,654-rating average for the Alpha M label as a whole. Two critic scores are on file: James Suckling 97 (logged Dec 2019) and 95 from another outlet (its logged date looks like a placeholder).
The flavor keywords lead with oak, vanilla and tobacco (1,046 mentions), followed by black fruit — blackcurrant, cassis (798). Structure: intensity 4.7/5 and tannin 3.6/5, both strong, with acidity at a middling 3.0 — a classic powerful, tannic full-bodied Bordeaux-blend profile.
"Nose sour cherry, bilberry, oak, blackcurrant. Mouth red fruit, and silky tannins and very special finish. 95/100 top wine." — Vivino review, Dec 2020, 4.5 stars
"Deep purple licorice blackberry ink and vanilla. Full bodied with soft tannins, had it 3 years ago at the same place, very elegant and persistent." — Vivino review, Oct 2022, 4.5 stars
Compared to other labels in the Montes Alpha series covered in this magazine (Cabernet Sauvignon 2017 at 3.9, Limited Selection Cabernet-Carmenère 2017), Alpha M's label-wide average runs 0.4–0.5 points higher — the gap you'd expect from a premium tier.
How I drank it
1 January 2020, New Year's Day, 3.5 stars. "Vanilla, blackcurrant, cassis, leather, smoke, cream, oak, grass. Full-bodied, with a wide range of aromas and flavors and a good balance, but I'd say expect it to be exactly what Montes Alpha's premium line should be — no more. I heard it came out of the Busan APEC summit, but I don't think Bordeaux blending is really Montes' specialty. It goes down really smoothly, though." That same day I also opened a Château Mont-Pérat 2016, and gave it 3 stars.
The Vivino community average is 4.3, and the listed critic score is James Suckling 97 — both well above my 3.5. The reason for the gap is already in my own note: I acknowledged "a good balance" while still drawing a line at "exactly the premium line, no more." That's not really a complaint about flaws — it's about expectations. In front of a title like "Chile's first icon wine," a price in the low hundreds, and a 97-point score, my honest impression was that Bordeaux blending "isn't really Montes' specialty." The note about how smoothly it went down lines up with the structure data's tannin of 3.6 — present, definitely, but rounded off rather than angular.
Vivino community data
2015 vintage rating distribution (1251 ratings, average 4.3)
| 5★ | 275 (22%) | |
| 4★ | 868 (69%) | |
| 3★ | 94 (8%) | |
| 2★ | 10 (1%) | |
| 1★ | 4 (0%) |
Most-mentioned aromas
| Family | Mentions | Top keywords |
|---|---|---|
| Oak | 1046 | oak 292 · vanilla 218 · tobacco 155 · chocolate 121 · cedar 52 |
| Black fruit | 798 | blackcurrant 178 · cassis 136 · blackberry 130 · plum 99 · black fruit 96 |
| Earth | 420 | leather 158 · earthy 90 · smoke 54 · cocoa 22 · minerals 17 |
| Spice | 310 | pepper 112 · mint 55 · licorice 43 · cinnamon 31 · eucalyptus 22 |
| Red fruit | 202 | cherry 73 · red fruit 44 · raspberry 30 · strawberry 20 · sour cherry 7 |
| Microbio & dairy | 43 | cream 21 · cheese 19 · oil 3 |
| Dried fruit | 39 | prune 12 · raisin 11 · fig 9 |
Structure: Acidity 3.0/5 · Intensity 4.7/5 · Tannin 3.6/5 · Sweetness 1.8/5
Average by vintage (all vintages: 22654 ratings, average 4.3)
| Vintage | Average | Ratings |
|---|---|---|
| 1996 | 4.2 | 59 |
| 1997 | 4.4 | 128 |
| 1998 | 4.1 | 69 |
| 1999 | 4.2 | 126 |
| 2000 | 4.4 | 194 |
| 2001 | 4.2 | 186 |
| 2002 | 4.1 | 38 |
| 2003 | 4.4 | 250 |
| 2004 | 4.4 | 285 |
| 2005 | 4.4 | 539 |
| 2006 | 4.4 | 936 |
| 2007 | 4.3 | 579 |
| 2008 | 3.9 | 265 |
| 2009 | 4.3 | 1406 |
| 2010 | 4.2 | 2605 |
| 2011 | 4.3 | 2095 |
| 2012 | 4.4 | 2589 |
| 2013 | 4.4 | 1241 |
| 2014 | 4.4 | 886 |
| 2015 | 4.3 | 1251 |
| 2016 | 4.2 | 390 |
| 2017 | 4.4 | 1313 |
| 2018 | 4.4 | 1865 |
| 2019 | 4.4 | 1043 |
| 2020 | 4.3 | 1241 |
| 2021 | 4.4 | 157 |
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→Frequently asked questions
What kind of wine is Montes Alpha M 2015?
A Bordeaux blend (80% Cabernet Sauvignon, 10% Cabernet Franc, 5% Merlot, 5% Petit Verdot) from Montes' Apalta district in Colchagua Valley, Chile — launched in 1996 as "Chile's first icon wine." Vivino: 1,251 ratings averaging 4.3; James Suckling scored it 97.
How much does it cost?
World average price: US$126 per 750ml ex-tax (Wine-Searcher, Sept 2026) (Wine-Searcher, to be confirmed). For reference, US retailer wine.com listed it at US$99.99 (checked Sept 2026).
What food pairs well with it?
Vivino users suggest beef, veal, poultry and pasta. With tannin at 3.6/5 and a full body, it pairs especially well with red meat like steak.
Was it really the dinner wine at the 2005 Busan APEC summit?
Several Korean press releases (from importer Naracellar) and articles citing them repeat this story, but they all appear to trace back to the same source, so I couldn't independently confirm it. It isn't confirmed in Montes' own materials or any official APEC record, so I treat it here as an unverified claim rather than a fact.
Links & sources
View on Vivino · Prices on Wine-Searcher
- Vivino — wine page and community data
- Montes official — Historia
- Wine Spectator — Wine Tip: Chilean Wine Visionary Aurelio Montes
- Wine.com — Montes Alpha M 2015 product page (critic quotes)
- JoongAng Economy News — APEC dinner wine revisited: Naracellar's limited Montes Alpha M set (source of the unverified claim)
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